Taliban Families Shocked Over Killing
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Families of the 23 Koreans kidnapped are deeply mourning the news of the Taliban's recent execution of one of the hostages Wednesday night.
``We were all deeply shocked,'' said a Saemmul Community Church pastor. ``In particular, it seems that families of women hostages are most seriously affected.''
Relatives of the captives have been gathering at the church office for the last seven days to monitor the progress of negotiations. At 9 p.m. yesterday night, when news broke of eight had been set free and escorted to a U.S. military base in Kabul, they all embraced. Their hopes soon diminished as reports later revealed that one of the male hostages had been killed an hour later.
Eighteen of the 23 Koreans are women in their 20s and 30s.
A church leader prayed that the remaining hostages would be set free, as most of them are women. ``I understand Islam does not hurt women and foreign guests,'' he said.
He did not want to believe the news of the killing, saying that Taliban claimed the execution of a German hostage, but sources later confirmed that he was alive.
Kim Sang-hun, 32, in Seoul said the government should have prohibited the Christians from going to such a dangerous country as Afghanistan.
Lee Do-hee, who runs a neuropsychiatry clinic, said that the victims are under severe stress, which involuntarily heightens their senses and keeps them in a highly alerted state. However, due to the extreme levels of vulnerability, they could break down at any moment with very little provocation.
``After a while, they might have repeated memories of trauma that can later haunt them,'' he said.
However, it seems that what devastates them is not only the danger exposed to their family members, but also people's harsh criticism toward their beloved ones.
After the news of their kidnapping, the support was lukewarm _ not everyone showed concern and encouragement.
Some criticized them for going to places where the government strongly requested them not to visit. Some people criticized the church for sending them, for the sake of a ``missionary trip.''
The criticism was unbearable to many family members. They asked the press to be cautious for a while, not to provoke any more criticism, insulting the families.
The stricken family members rushed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade pleading with the government for information regarding the Taliban's demands.
Still many Internet users did not stop the criticism and some of them went so far as to post information in English to share it with foreigners, too. Even Cheong Wa Dae had to ask the netizens to refrain from posting criticism online for the families' sake.
Lee Do-hee advised that what the family needs at the moment is warm-hearted encouragement with gentle guidance.
Police conducted a search for Internet users posting malicious comments and pictures, which are feared to further irritate Taliban militants and jeopardize the safe return of 23 kidnapped Korean citizens in Afghanistan.
They are considering taking legal action, arresting suspects on charges of defamation.
The police also asked operators of Korean and foreign Web sites to remove writing or video content that would irritate the kidnappers.
Those writings hurt the captives' families, instigate anti-Christianity sentiment on the Web, and even support the kidnappers.
Some people have claimed on foreign Web sites that the activity of those abducted was, in fact, missionary work and not voluntary work as claimed. Seoul officials advised netizens against making an issue of religion because the issue would worsen the situation.
An Internet user captured a picture from one of the abductees' personal Cyworld blog. In the photo, the kidnapped prayed in a Christian manner when she visited an Islamic Holy Land in Afghanistan in 2005.
The picture and her comments about her visit have been spreading on the Internet after being translated into English. Some other Internet users created video clips using the photo, added their own English comments that could anger Muslims, and posted them on the worldwide video site YouTube.